1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to providing an effective wireless policy enforcement management (WPEM) solution and system for use with mobile devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent media reports highlight the rise in catastrophic accidents that are caused by distraction and reduced reaction time due to consumer texting while driving. The percentage of young drivers texting or using other hand-held electronic devices has increased from 2007, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2008 nationwide survey. According to the survey, at any given moment during daylight hours, approximately 812,000 vehicles are being driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone, and in 16% of all fatal traffic fatalities, driver distraction was a factor.
Each day in the United States, more than 9 people are killed and more than 1,060 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver. Distracted driving is driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving. Distracted driving increases the chance of a motor vehicle crash.
There are three main types of distraction:                Visual: taking your eyes off the road;        Manual: taking your hands off the wheel; and        Cognitive: taking your mind off what you are doing.        
Distracted driving activities include things like using a cell phone, texting, browsing the Internet, auto entertainment system interactions, tablet and laptop interactions. Using in-vehicle technologies (such as navigation systems) can also be sources of distraction. While any of these distractions can endanger the driver and others, texting while driving is especially dangerous because it combines all three types of distraction.
In 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, compared to 3,267 in 2010. An additional 387,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in 2011, compared to 416,000 people injured in 2010.
In 2010, nearly one in five crashes (18%) in which someone was injured involved distracted driving.
In June 2011, more than 196 billion text messages were sent or received in the United States, up nearly 50% from June 2009.
A CDC study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, Ga. 30333, analyzed 2011 data on distracted driving, including talking, texting, and reading email behind the wheel. The researchers compared the prevalence of talking on a cell phone or texting while driving in the United States and seven European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Key findings included the following:
Cell phone use while driving                69% of drivers in the United States ages 18-64 reported that they had talked on their cell phone while driving within the 30 days before they were surveyed.        In Europe, this percentage ranged from 21% in the United Kingdom to 59% in Portugal.        
Texting or emailing while driving                31% of U.S. drivers ages 18-64 reported that they had read or sent text messages or email messages while driving at least once within the 30 days before they were surveyed.        In Europe, this percentage ranged from 15% in Spain to 31% in Portugal.        
What are the risk factors?                Some activities—such as texting—take the driver's attention away from driving more frequently and for longer periods than other distractions.        Younger, inexperienced drivers under the age of 20 may be at increased risk; they have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.        
What is being done?                Many states are enacting laws—such as banning texting while driving, or using graduated driver licensing systems for teen drivers—to help raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and to keep it from occurring. However, the effectiveness of cell phone and texting laws on decreasing distracted driving-related crashes requires further study.        On Sep. 30, 2009, President Obama issued an executive order prohibiting federal employees from texting while driving on government business or with government equipment.        On Oct. 27, 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enacted a ban that prohibits commercial vehicle drivers from texting while driving.        
In response to this ever growing danger, many states and municipalities have passed laws to prohibit or limit the use of cell phones while driving in designated areas, such as schools, creating a patchwork approach to safeguarding students and other pedestrians at critical times and places in various communities.
For example, a number of states have outlawed handheld cell phone use while driving, or have banned cell phone use for certain types of drivers. Most make an exception for emergency calls to police, the fire department, medical personnel, and the like.
At least five states, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Washington have enacted laws banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving. With the exception of Washington, these states allow “primary enforcement of an offense” which means that police officers can pull one over for using a handheld cell phone without any other reason for the traffic stop.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have enacted special cell phone driving laws for novice drivers, for example, those with a learner's permit, or young drivers, such as those under the age of 18. For example, in California, drivers under the age of 18 cannot use any type of communication device while driving. States with these types of restrictions include: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C., and West Virginia.
Fifteen states plus the District of Columbia have also banned school bus drivers from using cell phones while passengers are present.
Two states, Washington and New Jersey, have banned text messaging for all drivers. Some states, including Utah and New Hampshire, lump cell phone use into a larger ban on distracted driving. For example, in Utah, speaking on a cell phone may be a violation if the driver has committed another moving offense.
In addition to state-wide prohibitions, many towns and cities have banned certain types of cell phone use while driving. Finally, the prohibitions of cell phone use while driving is not limited to the United States. The list of foreign countries that have some sort of cell phone ban for drivers is significant. Most of these countries ban handheld cell phones, not hands-free devices.
Additionally, given the ever-changing patchwork of municipal ordinances and state laws that address cell phone usage, it is difficult for a user to know what legal consequences might result from his or her actions. None of the present applications notify the user of the particular ordinances, regulations, or laws that are in effect in a particular location at a particular time. It is desirable to inform the user of the legal consequences for using a cell phone in a particular area, and with positive reinforcements for safe behavior, allowing the user to exercise his or her sound discretion in determining whether or not to use a cell phone in a particular situation.
An object of an embodiment of the invention is to provide a method and system that will apply pre-defined policies directly to the mobile device automatically at the device's Operating System level and overriding the existing device's policy configuration file and temporarily applying the SafeCell 360™ Wireless Policy Configuration file.
An object of another embodiment of the invention is to provide a method and system that effectively deters unsafe practices of mobile device use during driving while enforcing wireless policies across a wide array of device profiles.
An object of an embodiment of the invention is to provide a method and system that utilizes a metrics program to encourage safe cell phone practice and adherence to laws.
An object of an embodiment of the invention is to provide a method and system for deterring unsafe cell phone practices that is cost effective.
An object of an embodiment of the invention is to provide a method and system that automatically informs the user of local laws and policies when the user enters facilities, neighborhoods, cities, counties, or states where cell phone usage prohibitions have been enacted, thus alerting the user of the potential legal consequences of driving while using a mobile communications device.
An object of an embodiment of the invention is to provide a method and system that automatically informs the user of potential hazards or specific requirements when the user enters defined areas such as confined spaces, refineries, manufacturing plants, ships, facilities, tank farms, petrochemical and military installations, thus alerting the user of the potential dangerous consequences while working or entering into these areas.
An object of an embodiment of the invention is to provide a method and system including a web-based application to track a user's position, monitor safe driving, and inform the user when entering defined areas that have specific safety requirements.
Another object of an embodiment of the invention is to provide a method and system for documenting the user's driving habits, providing a 360° view of the user trip by capturing any and all sensory data elements from the device and the SafeCell 360 application installed on the user's device and providing a singular view of all the captured data points. Such information could then be used by insurance companies or risk analysts in determining policy limits for various types of insurances.
The objects described above and other advantages and features of embodiments of the invention are incorporated in a method and system that provides positive, behavior-modifying reinforcement for deterring unsafe behaviors, including unsafe cell phone use, Internet use, email, device-based applications, and in particular, text messaging (“texting”), while driving. In addition, other safety-related information, such as personal protective equipment requirements, prohibitions, or other pre-defined guidelines, may be provided to the user based on the user's location.